Northern_Lights_2014

girl with no friends?! If confidence had been her ally, had she been able to escape the dissonance clanging through her brain and forcing her into resignation, she might have said something. She might have asked Harper why, or of- fered to listen to whatever weighed on his mind. She might have asked him to dispel the rumors that Jane kept spewing like bile—rumors that he was seeing someone else. “Seeing.” What a funny choice of words. A cacophony of hot anger shot through her veins and the wind picked up its assault on her face. Why should she care enough to inquire about his well-being when he didn’t lend an ounce of concern towards hers? “You’re right. Absolutely; it’s absolutely for the best. This is just child’s play after all, right?” She laughed. Next to her, she heard Harper exhale in relief. He placed a quick kiss on her cheek and squeezed her hand. She didn’t move. “It’s been fun, Luce.” His voice was farther away now. He must have stood. “Find happiness, wherev- er life takes you! Maybe we’ll meet again sometime.” She heard him give his bicycle a rough kick, and just as quickly as he’d come he was gone again, bi- cycle tires whirring and clicking until they faded out. The wind suddenly ceased. It felt as though the chorus of sounds Harper had described suddenly shat- tered around her, leaving nothing but a deafening nothingness that seemed to stifle her. His missing presence left no room for the fury that had vexed her prior. Through the silence she could hear her thoughts clearly. She wasn’t angry at Harper. She was angry at herself. His music had never reached her. Despite his coaxing, she’d never let herself become more than a Blind Girl. And now she felt more isolated than ever. Someday he might come back. Someday, if she waited long enough, he’d show up with his guitar wearing a smile in his voice and play until the night became still. She would keep waiting, curled up against the fence, until her classmates thundered out of the school for the last time, until she stopped wishing she was more than a shadow on a wall, until the sounds ceased to make any noise—waiting for Harper’s return. But Harper’s music would never return to the corner of 1626 Willowstreet. She could no longer hear the sounds of the sky. The darkness crept into the silence and stayed there. Back to Contents 13